Safety mechanism for firearms



Jan. 20, 1959 Filed June 2, I955 W. J. CCUTURE SAFETY MECHANISM FORFIREARMS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGURE GIN ION) oo IOIO INVENTOR. WlLFRED J.COUTURE, mace/x520 by CLAIZAM. COUTUQE,AOM\N\5TRATRIX ATTO N Y Jan. 20,1959 2,869,269

W. J. COUTURE SAFETY MECHANISM FOR FIREARMS Filed June 2, 1955 3Sheets-Sheet 2 v V FIGURE 2 INVENTOR. 34 WILFREOJ. ouTul2E,DzcEAen byCLARAMCOUTURE, Aomlme'mAw-mx BY)!Z%- 717. ATTOR EY Jan. 20, 1959 FiledJune 2, 1955 W. J. COUTURE SAFETY MECHANISM FOR FIREARMS 3 Sheets-Sheet3 FIGURE 4 ATTORNEY aseazea Patented Jan. 20?, 1959 inc SAFETY MECHANISMFQR FIREARMS Wilfrid J. Couture, deceased, late of New Haven, onn., byClara M. Qouture, administratrix, New Haven, Conn., assignor to OlinMatlaieson ilhemical Corporation, a corporation Application June 2,1955, erial No. 512,606 1 Claim. (Cl. 4270) This invention relates to afirearm and more particularly to a novel safety mechanism for a firearmof the bolt action type.

In bolt action rifles of the upturn and pullback type, it is desirableto incorporate into the gun a safety mechanism which not only can lockthe trigger but also can lock the bolt. The former is desirable toprevent accidental firing while the latter is desirable to preventaccidental release of the bolt.

An object of this invention is a safety mechanism for a bolt actionrifie which is simple and economical in construction and adapted for useupon a gun of the upturn and pullback type. A further object of thisinvention is a novel safety mechanism which operates both upon thetrigger and upon the bolt so as to completely lock the gun. A stillfurther object of this invention is to provide a novel safety mechanismwhich permits movement of the bolt while the trigger is locked therebyenabling safe unloading of the gun. Another object of this invention isto provide a novel safety mechanism which cams the cocking shoulder ofthe trigger against the engaging sear surface of the sear. Other objectswill become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading thefollowing detailed description and accompanying drawings in which,

Figure l is a partial right side view of a bolt action rifle showing anembodiment of the safety mechanism of this invention as it appears in afully on position, that is, when both the bolt and the trigger arelocked,

Figure 2 is a broken right side perspective view of the rifle showingthe safety mechanism and its spring detent,

Figure 3 shows a partial left side view of the bolt action rifle shownin Figure 1 but in which the safety mechanism is in a partially onposition, that is, locks only the trigger,

Figure 4 is a partial left side view of the rifle shown in Figure 3showing the safety mechanism in an off position, and

Figure '5 is a perspective view of the disassembled safety of thisinvention. v

The illustration in the accompanying drawings show the use of the safetymechanism of this invention in a bolt action rifle of the so-calledupturn and pullback type. This name is applied because the bolt isWithdrawn from the chamber by grasping the operating handle, turning itup and pulling it back. This type of gun generally consists of areceiver 11 of tubular shape having sliding channels on its innersurface to form a bolt receiving passage. It also has an upward facingload and ejection opening 13. A barrel 14 is threaded to the front ormuzzle end of the receiver, said barrel having a chamber section at itsbreech end.

A sliding cylindrical bolt 15 having sliding and locking lugs thereon iscontained within the bolt receiving passage of the receiver. Operatinghandle 16 extends sidewise from said bolt. The bolt consists of atubular casing 17 in which is contained a firing pin 18, spring loadedby a firing pin spring 19. Threaded into the rear end of the tubularcasing 17 is a bolt sleeve 20 through which the firing pin extendsrearwardly. Extending downwardly from the rear end portion of the firingpin is a sear engaging lug 21 which acts as a cocking shoulder forengagement by a sear 22. Sear 22 pivots about sear pin 23 to enablerelease of the firing pin if it is cocked (as shown). The sear isnormally held against the sear engaging lug of the firing pin by searspring 24.

Extending downwardly from the receiver is a support member 25 which actsto support a trigger 26, a bolt release 27 and a safety 28. The triggerand the bolt release lock are pivoted for rotation about trigger pin 29while the safety is pivoted for rotation about safety pin 30.

The trigger 26 consists of sheet metal stock having a rearwardlyextending lug 31 upon which a trigger pin spring 32 rests in a normallycompressed state. A downwardly extending adjustable guide rod 33,adjusted to avoid contact with the rear lug 31 of the trigger pin guidesthe spring 32 in its operation. Extending forwardly in the trigger andengaging the sear is a cocking shoulder 34. This shoulder contacts thesear 22 at its shoulder 35 and blocks counterclockwise (Fig. 1) movementof the sear until the trigger is pulled rearwardly. When the trigger 26is pulled rearwardly (to the left as viewed in Fig. 1) the shoulders 34and 35 slip past one another and become unblocked thus freeing the searto rotate counterclockwise (Fig. 1) about sear pin 23. The sear spring24 comprises a flat leaf having a laterally projecting lug (not shown)which engages the sear as at 24a. The sear spring 24 is suitably mountedin the body of the rifle so that it normally tends to cause the sear 22to rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1. In spite of theurging of the sear 22 in a clockwise direction by the sear spring, theforce of the firing pin spring 19 is dominant and is sufficient to causethe bolt 15 to move/to the right when the sear is in the unblockedcondition. During the course of the motion of the bolt 15 to the rightthe lug 21 of the bolt rides over the sear 22 and earns it downwardly ina counterclockwise direction about the sear pin.

The bolt release 27 is also of sheet metal stock having an upwardlyextending member 36 which extends through a slot in the receiver 11 andinto the slide passage of the front lug of the bolt to prevent completeremoval of the bolt. This bolt release is normally kept in a boltengaging position by spring plunger 37 which spring loads against anupward extending arm of the bolt release 27.

Directly beneath the load and ejection opening 13 of receiver 11 ismagazine 38 of the box type. Within said magazine is contained magazinespring 39, spring loading a magazine follower 40 upwardly. Resting uponsaid follower is cartridge 41. Additional cartridges may be storedwithin said magazine, if desired.

The safety 28 of this invention is atfixed to the lower end of supportmember 25. As shown in unassembled relationship in Figure 5, it consistsof sheet metal stock folded over at its lower end 51 to form an unevenarmed U-shaped member. A hole 52 is drilled through said members toreceive safety pin 30, thereby producing a journal bearing for saidsafety. The short arm 53 of the inverted U-shaped member has a forwardlyextending stop member 54 which engages the trigger when assembled uponthe gun. The long arm 62 of the U- shaped member has a much largerforwardly extending locking lug 55 extending from the lower portion ofsaid arm up through a slot in the receiver. Its tip 56 engages a notch57 in the bolt when said bolt is in battery position. In an unlockedposition it extends to a point below the notch 57. The long arm of theU-shaped member also contains a vertical slot '58 through which leafspring 59 extends. The lower end of the leaf spring is shaped toencircle the safety pin 36 while the upper end contains a lug 60 whichengages a flat on the re ceiver in which three depressions are formed.Engagement of the lug 6t} and the left depression (Fig. 2) representsthe position in which the bolt and the trigger are blocked whileengagement of the lug 6% with the middle depression represents theposition of the safety in which the bolt is free to be opened and thetrigger alone is latched or blocked' 'When the safety is in the righthand position shown in Fig. 2 (with the lug 69 in cng. ment with adepression which is not visible) both the trigger and the bolt areunlocked. A ratchet mechanism for controlling the position ofthe safetythereby results. Topping the long arm 62 of the U-shaped memher is afinger piece 61 having ridges therein for frictional engagement with thethumb of the shooter.

The receiver assembly is affixed to a gun stock 70 by means of triggerguard plate 71 through which bolts 72, '73 and 74 extend and arethreaded into the receiver.

To operate the gun, the shooter first loads the gun by opening theaction. This is performed by lifting up on the operating handle 16 andpulling back the bolt 15 until its forward locking lug is stopped by thebolt engaging arm 36 of the bolt release 27. Cartridges are theninserted. through the load opening 13 of the receiver into the magazine38. The bolt is then rammed home and in so doing, the top cartridge inthe magazine is driven into the chamber section of the barrel 14.

The rear of the cartridge contained in the chamber,

designated C in Figure 1, is supported by the cartridge seat face 89 ofthe bolt and its rim is engaged by a spring biased extractor 81 whichprotrudes partly across the cartridge seat face. The operating handle isthen turned downwardly to cock the firing pin through engagement of thedownward extending lug 21 of the firing pin 18 with the sear 22. Thissear is normally held in an upward position bythe sear spring 24.

At this time, it is generally the practice to operate the safety.

rear. Lug 69 snaps into the several depressions on the flat of the sidewall of the receiver. In its rearmost position both the bolt 20 and thetrigger 26 are It is placed in a fully on position by pulling the fingerpiece 61 of the safety completely toward the locked by the safetythebolt'by reason of safety tip 56 engaging notch 57, and the trigger byreason of stop member54 wedging the cocking shoulder 34 of the triggeragainst the sear shoulderSS of the sear. A completely safe transportablegun is thereby enabled. Any

jar against the trigger or against the operating handle I will not causefiring or accidental opening of the bolt because both the pin and thebolt are locked.

Should one desire to unlock the bolt while retaining the trigger in itssafety position as generally required when unloading the gun, the fingerpiece 51 of the safety is moved forwardly until the safety lug snapsinto a center notch. In this condition the bolt can be operated in thenormal fashion but the trigger cannot be pulled because it engages nose54 of the safety 28. The bolt has been unlocked because the safety tip56 has been disengaged from notch 57 of the bolt.

Complete forward movement of the finger piece 61 completely releases thebolt and trigger. The gun may then be fired by pulling the trigger. Insuch instance, the safety tip 56 is out of engagement with the notch 57of the bolt and the stop member 54 is opposite a groove 82 in thetrigger (see Figure 4).

Pulling the trigger releases the sear 22 which pivots about its sear pin23 by the force of the firing pin spring 19 acting through the firingpin lug 21. The firing pin 28 is driven into the igniter of thecartridge C by the firing pin spring 19 and bullet is ejected from themuzzle of the gun.

After firing, the cartridge case C is extracted from the chamber bylifting the operating handle 16 and pulling it rearwardly. By so doing,the extractor 81 grips the rim of the cartridge case pulling itrearwardly.

An ejector within the bolt housing pushes forward through an orifice inthe cartridge seat face thereby causing the cartridge to pivot aroundthe extractor as it clears the forward portion of the load and ejectionopening 13 of the receiver Jill. The fired cartridge case is therebyejected. The gun is reloaded by forward movement of the bolt to driveanother cartridge contained in the magazine into the chamber section ofthe barrel. The action of the gun may then be repeated as describedabove.

Obviously, certain modifications are possible, for example the ratchetmechanism of the safety may be of difierent design. A projection insteadof the leaf spring from thelong arm of the U-shaped member may be usedto engage the staggered depressions in the fiat on the receiver Wall.One might also employ a ratchet mechanism at the bearing section of thesafety. Another ob-- vious variation could be in the bearing section ofthe safety. it could be a solid journal having appropriate armsextending therefrom to act as a stop member and a bolt engaging tip. Inthe gun itself many modifications can obviously be made without changingthe operation of the safety. Here again, these should not deter from thescope of the described safety and its use.

The. inventions having thus been described what is desired to be securedby Letters Patent is as follows:

In a bolt action firearm including a bolt, 21 slidable firing pin, atrigger and a receiver, a safety device pivotally mounted upon thereceiver, said device comprising a metallic, U-shaped member formed witha locking lug and a stop, said lug and said stop being directlyengageable with the bolt and with the trigger respectively for lockingthe bolt and for blocking the operation of the trigger, said safetydevice being rotatable to a first position wherein the bolt and thetrigger are both locked, said safety device being rotatable to a secondposition wherein the trigger only is locked and leaf spring meansmounted upon the safety device and coopcrating with the receiver forlocking the safety device selectively in either of said two positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent 2 UNITED STATES PATENTS

